Andrew Yasin Period 1 Apes 12/20/10 Chapter 24 over view questions

Question 1: What is solid waste and how much do we produce?

Solid waste is any unwanted or discarded material that is not a liquid or a gas. We produce one third of the worlds total amount of solid waste.

Question 2: What can we do to reduce, reuse, and recycle solid waste?

We can reduce the use of solid waste by using items that will become waste less, we can reuse things by recycling them.

Question 3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of burning or burying solid waste?
The advantage is that with this method the U.S. is taking this as a business oppurtunity, and the disadvantage is that landfills its being burried in will eventually leak toxic liquids into the soil and underlying aquifers.

Question 4: What is hazardous waste and how can we deal with it?
Hazardous waste is a solid or liquid waste that can harm people. We can burn,bury, detoxify, reuse,recycle, or not produce hazardous wastes.

Question 5: How can we detoxify hazardous waste?

Chemical and biological methods can be used to remove hazardous wastes or to reduce their toxicity.

Question 6: What are the advantages and disadvantages of burning or burying hazardous waste?
Hazardous waste can be incinerated or disposed of on or underneath the earths surface, bu this can pollute the air and water.

Question 7: What can we do to reduce exposure to lead, mercury, and dioxins?

We can phase out leaded gasoline worldwide, phase out waste incineration, test blood for lead by the age of 1, ban lead solder in plumbing pipes,fixures, and food cans, band lead glazing for ceramicware used to serve food, ban candles with lead cores,remove mercury form coal before it is burned, convert coal to liquid or gaseous fuel, switch from coal to natural gas and renewable energy resources such as wind, solar cells, and hydrogen, and phase out use of mercury in all products unless they are recycled.

Question 8: How is hazardous waste regulated in the United States?

U.S. firms produce fairly large amounts of hazardous waste must get a permit from the EPA and submit a record tracking these wastes from production to disposal.

Question 9: How can we make the transition to a more sustainable low-waste society?
Listen to scientist and live by the four key principles which are: everything is connected, there is no away for the wastes we produce, dilution is not always the solution to pollution, and the best and cheapest way to deal with waste and pollution is to produce less pollutants and to reuse and recycle most of the materials we use.